In a court filing Wednesday afternoon, the publishers said that the U.S. Department of Justice’s demands on Apple would eliminate the use of the “agency model” for the sale and distribution of e-books for a period of five years, by prohibiting Apple from entering such agreements.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20130807/publishers-object-to-e-book-plan-for-apple/feed/0Here's the DOJ's E-Book-Pricing Case Against Apple (Slide Deck)http://allthingsd.com/20130603/heres-the-dojs-e-book-pricing-case-against-apple-slide-deck/
http://allthingsd.com/20130603/heres-the-dojs-e-book-pricing-case-against-apple-slide-deck/#commentsMon, 03 Jun 2013 17:57:43 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=328507Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. That seems to be the gist of the U.S. Justice Department’s case against Apple in a trial over whether the company conspired with five major book publishers to fix prices in the e-book market.

In opening arguments this morning, DOJ attorney Lawrence Buterman presented a broad overview of the government’s case against Apple, offering up a bevy of email and phone record evidence that he claimed showed the company rallying publishers around a new electronic book business model that drove up the price of e-books just prior to the 2010 introduction of the iPad. “Apple’s conduct cannot be excused,” Buterman said. “Consumers in this country paid hundreds of millions of dollars more for e-books than they would have.”

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20130603/heres-the-dojs-e-book-pricing-case-against-apple-slide-deck/feed/0Amazon's Quest for Web Names Draws Foeshttp://allthingsd.com/20130311/amazons-quest-for-web-names-draws-foes/
http://allthingsd.com/20130311/amazons-quest-for-web-names-draws-foes/#commentsMon, 11 Mar 2013 14:00:29 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=302239Large and small companies are vying for control of an array of new Internet domain names, but Amazon.com Inc.’s plans are coming under particular scrutiny.

Two publishing industry groups, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, are objecting to the online retailer’s request for ownership of new top-level domain names that are part of a long-awaited expansion of the Web’s addressing scheme. They argue that giving Amazon control over such addresses — which include “.book,” “.author” and “.read” — would be a threat to competition and shouldn’t be allowed.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20130311/amazons-quest-for-web-names-draws-foes/feed/0The Latest Long Apple Line: Developers Waiting for App Approvalhttp://allthingsd.com/20121108/the-latest-long-apple-line-developers-waiting-for-app-approval/
http://allthingsd.com/20121108/the-latest-long-apple-line-developers-waiting-for-app-approval/#commentsThu, 08 Nov 2012 20:24:22 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=267571Complaints are coming from some developers that Apple’s App Store approval process has slowed recently, with wait times running up to three weeks.

cdrin / Shutterstock.com

The drawn-out process is particularly troubling for some that are hoping to launch games or other applications in time for the holidays to take advantage of higher-than-usual phone and tablet sales. “It’s been a nightmare. It’s worse than it’s ever been,” said one developer, who spoke to AllThingsD on the condition of anonymity.

The same developer said Apple has been warning app makers over the phone that based on expected volumes, it could take up to three weeks to get an app approved. Additionally, if developers want to ensure that apps are approved before the New Year, it’s recommended that they submit them by Thanksgiving — only two weeks away.

Apple sent out a letter to developers today, reminding them that the company will not be processing any requests for one week this winter as part of its practice to shut down operations during the winter holidays. The shutdown this year will run from Dec. 21 to Dec. 28. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.

While it is hard to gauge exactly what is normal since the approval process largely depends on the publisher’s circumstances, a rule of thumb is that Apple approves apps within 10 to 14 days. The new timelines being shared with some developers are likely presenting the worst-case scenario, with some occurring much faster. According to Apple’s developer portal, 84 percent of new apps and 95 percent of updates have been reviewed in the past eight business days (although those numbers have not been updated since Oct. 15).

A third-party service, called Shiny Development, attempts to track the wait times independently and is reporting an average wait time of nine days. It’s unclear how accurate that data is since it is based on developers self-reporting their times on Twitter. In the meantime, Shiny Development also reports that the Mac App Store wait times are an average of 19 days. Many believe that Apple has shifted resources from the Mac store to the iOS store to help with increased demand on the mobile front, resulting in longer delays for the Mac.

Apple’s week-long vacation always leads to longer approval processes around the holidays, but this year a number of developers are saying that timeframes increased earlier than normal — for obvious reasons. Developers have been busy creating new applications for the iPhone 5, which has a larger display. The iPad mini may also increase submissions as developers choose to tailor their iPad apps for a smaller display. Finally, developers must also update their apps to support new features in iOS 6, including Passbook, Apple’s new maps and Facebook integration.

Apple has been criticized for a slow approval process before, and many delight in the fact that Google’s Android has none at all. To be sure, it seems that the times once promised by Apple have slipped in recent years. In June 2010, Steve Jobs told developers that 95 percent of all apps submitted were being approved within seven days.

Now it’s not only consumers who are willing to stand in line to get their hands on the latest hardware; developers are eager to get their turn, too.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20121108/the-latest-long-apple-line-developers-waiting-for-app-approval/feed/0Judge Approves E-Book Price-Fixing Settlementhttp://allthingsd.com/20120914/judge-approves-e-book-price-fixing-settlement/
http://allthingsd.com/20120914/judge-approves-e-book-price-fixing-settlement/#commentsFri, 14 Sep 2012 22:01:38 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=250845A U.S. judge has approved an antitrust agreement with dozens of states in which consumers will receive more than $69 million from book publishers to settle allegations of price-fixing of e-books.

The approval follows a consent last week given by the judge to a separate but related federal antitrust settlement involving similar allegations.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120914/judge-approves-e-book-price-fixing-settlement/feed/0Judge Approves Settlement in E-Book Pricing Casehttp://allthingsd.com/20120906/judge-approves-settlement-in-e-book-pricing-case/
http://allthingsd.com/20120906/judge-approves-settlement-in-e-book-pricing-case/#commentsThu, 06 Sep 2012 20:26:21 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=248473In a move that could reshape the publishing industry, a federal judge has approved a settlement with three of the nation’s largest book publishers over alleged collusion in the pricing of e-books.

The approval comes as Apple Inc. and two other publishers are preparing to defend themselves next June over antitrust allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that they agreed to keep e-book prices artificially high in an effort to force Amazon.com Inc. to stop its steep discounting.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120906/judge-approves-settlement-in-e-book-pricing-case/feed/0Memo to DOJ: Drop the Apple E-Books Suithttp://allthingsd.com/20120718/memo-to-doj-drop-the-apple-e-books-suit/
http://allthingsd.com/20120718/memo-to-doj-drop-the-apple-e-books-suit/#commentsWed, 18 Jul 2012 23:00:02 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=231683Recently the Department of Justice filed suit against Apple and major publishers, alleging that they colluded to raise prices in the digital books market. While the claim sounds plausible on its face, the suit could wipe out the publishing industry as we know it, making it much harder for young authors to get published.

The suit will restore Amazon to the dominant position atop the e-books market it occupied for years before competition arrived in the form of Apple. If that happens, consumers will be forced to accept whatever prices Amazon sets.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120718/memo-to-doj-drop-the-apple-e-books-suit/feed/0Amazon's Kindle Is Finally Headed to Japanhttp://allthingsd.com/20120626/amazons-kindle-is-finally-headed-to-japan/
http://allthingsd.com/20120626/amazons-kindle-is-finally-headed-to-japan/#commentsTue, 26 Jun 2012 15:55:28 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=224478At long last, Amazon’s Kindle e-reader is headed for Japan. The retailer this morning lit up a Kindle promotional page on its Japanese store, saying the device is “coming soon.”

And it’s about time. Amazon was rumored to be prepping a Kindle for the Japanese market last year, but that effort was hamstrung by Japanese publishers reluctant to provide content to Amazon, fearing the company would sell it at too much of a discount, potentially undermining both the digital and dead-tree sides of their business.

Evidently Amazon has since disabused them of that notion. The Asahi Shimbun reported in April that Amazon had struck deals with a number of smaller Japanese publishing houses, and was working hard to sign similar agreements with their larger brethren. Presumably, the company has now inked enough deals with key Japanese publishers to move forward with a launch.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120626/amazons-kindle-is-finally-headed-to-japan/feed/0Google Settles Lawsuits Brought by French Authors and Publishershttp://allthingsd.com/20120611/google-settles-lawsuits-brought-by-french-authors-and-publishers/
http://allthingsd.com/20120611/google-settles-lawsuits-brought-by-french-authors-and-publishers/#commentsMon, 11 Jun 2012 13:30:14 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=218638Google Inc.’s effort to digitize the world’s books inched forward Monday, as the search giant said it had struck deals with French authors and publishers that end six years of litigation and open the way to sell out-of-print French books online.

As part of the deal, a French author association that had been suing Google for copyright infringement said it had agreed to withdraw its lawsuit, the last such pending suit in France after other publishers withdrew theirs last year.

With those words, senior Apple executive Eddy Cue stuck to his take-it-or-leave-it business model of a 30 percent revenue share payable for transactions through the iTunes service. Despite my arguments to Mr. Cue in Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., offices last year on behalf of news publishers seeking different terms, to him there was no difference between a newspaper and an online game.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120423/justice-department-bites-apple/feed/0Newfangled Aggregator Trapit Hires an Old-Timer: Yahoo Editor Liz Lufkinhttp://allthingsd.com/20120417/newfangled-aggregator-trapit-hires-an-old-timer-yahoo-editor-liz-lufkin/
http://allthingsd.com/20120417/newfangled-aggregator-trapit-hires-an-old-timer-yahoo-editor-liz-lufkin/#commentsTue, 17 Apr 2012 13:01:41 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=197023Liz Lufkin used to have a big say about what most of the Internet read. Now she wants to do it again.

The difference is that at Lufkin’s last job, running the home page for Yahoo, she helped shape the daily media diet for hundreds of millions of people a month. Now she’s chief content officer at Trapit, a recently launched news aggregator that attracts some 25,000 visitors a day.

Trapit is tiny, but the real challenge for Lufkin and the start-up isn’t the company’s size. It’s the competition: There are roughly one gazillion services that say they will filter the Internet’s endless waves of stories into something personalized and manageable. Some, like Google news, use unfathomable algorithms; others, like News.me, say they do it using social cues from your Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Trapit’s pitch, essentially, is that it does a better job than the rest because it is built on the bones of a DARPA-funded artificial technology project. It says it isn’t interested in the social Web but the real-time Web, and in the way individual users respond to the stories it serves up, so it can get better at predicting their tastes over time.

I don’t have any way to vet those claims based on my brief demos of the site (above, the top results for “greek yogurt,” in case Dick Costolo is interested). But I can note that hiring Lufkin to help sort and display content is an acknowledgment that even the smartest computers need an assist or two.

In addition to her editorial work, Lufkin is also supposed to help Trapit build a business. Right now, the company simply points users to publishers’ original stories (surrounded by a framebar) and there’s no revenue in that. But Lufkin and Amra Tareen, the site’s new biz dev head, are supposed to go out and create partnerships with publishers so that Trapit could help them sell subscriptions or a la carte articles.

It’d be great if they could get a couple of those deals hammered out in the next month or so, when Trapit’s new iPad app is supposed to launch. But Lufkin and Tareen just started at Trapit this month, and if you’re betting on publishers to move quickly, you’ll lose lots of money, fast. Best to give this one some time.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120417/newfangled-aggregator-trapit-hires-an-old-timer-yahoo-editor-liz-lufkin/feed/0U.S. Sues Apple, Publishers Over E-Book Pricinghttp://allthingsd.com/20120411/u-s-sues-apple-publishers-over-e-book-pricing/
http://allthingsd.com/20120411/u-s-sues-apple-publishers-over-e-book-pricing/#commentsWed, 11 Apr 2012 14:39:48 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=195292NEW YORK — The U.S. filed an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Apple Inc. and five of the nation’s largest publishers, alleging they conspired to limit competition for the pricing of e-books.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, alleges Apple and the publishers reached an agreement where retail price competition would cease, retail e-books prices would increase significantly and Apple would be guarantee a 30% “commission” on each e-book sold.

As part of the announcement, the retailer is also confirming that it will take a 30 percent cut of each transaction, which is the standard across Apple’s App Store, Facebook and Google Play (Correction: In an earlier version, it stated that Google takes 5 percent, which only applies to the Google+ game network.)

The announcement is not a huge surprise, since Amazon has been testing in-app payments over the past few months with a number of developers in the Amazon Appstore, which runs on the Kindle Fire and a number of Android handsets.

The payments platform utilizes Amazon’s well-recognized and trusted “1-Click” purchasing experience that so many consumers are familiar with from shopping online. By bringing it to mobile, it will make it easy for consumers to purchase a few more coins inside a game or to subscribe to a magazine.

But while the announcement sounds fairly basic, the rollout is important for Amazon to get right, since developers’ initial reception to the Appstore was a little strained — and stories of making money on the platform have been mixed.

That’s because, unlike other app stores, Amazon has decided to dictate how much an app sells for, and in some cases, the company elects to make apps free as part of its Free App of the Day promotion. In doing so, developers sometimes make less revenue than they would normally expect (especially since there was no potential upside from in-app purchases).

Developers and publishers will be able to set the price of the items within the store, including virtual goods or subscriptions, an Amazon spokesperson said.

Based on developers that participated in the beta tests, so far Amazon’s Appstore looks like it has been monetizing well.

Storm8, which was one of the game developers that participated in the beta test, told AllThingsD that it generated $700,000 in revenue from in-app purchases in March — before Amazon’s cut. The Redwood City developer said it has 10 free-to-play apps in the store, including such titles as Kingdoms Live, Nightclub Story and Farm Story; at one point, four of its games ranked among the five most popular free apps on Amazon.

Flurry, which provides analytics software to developers, also estimated that Amazon’s in-app payment platform monetizes well, and that it outperforms Google Play, but falls short of the industry’s gold standard, which is Apple.

Still, it’s unclear whether Amazon will be able to woo developers, given that it is so much smaller than the other players. Last month, after celebrating its first year in business, Amazon confirmed that it had more than 31,000 apps in its store, which is far fewer than either Google or Apple.

It’s also unclear how many devices the Appstore is installed on, since Amazon does not share much information, including how many Kindle Fires it has sold.

According to a report by IHS iSuppli, Amazon shipped 3.9 million Fires in the fourth quarter, to claim 14.3 percent of the market. That makes it the world’s second-largest tablet vendor, surpassing Samsung, which has been in the market far longer, with many more devices.

In the future, what could potentially be even more interesting for developers than in-app payments is if Amazon will let them use apps to sell merchandise, such as Rovio’s plush toys, or DVDs and other cross-promotional items.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the possibility.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120410/amazon-extends-the-power-of-1-click-purchasing-to-mobile-apps/feed/0Talks Quicken Over E-Book Pricinghttp://allthingsd.com/20120404/settlement-near-on-e-book-pricing/
http://allthingsd.com/20120404/settlement-near-on-e-book-pricing/#commentsWed, 04 Apr 2012 23:14:15 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=193333Talks to resolve U.S. and European price-fixing probes into e-books are heating up, with three international publishers inclined to settle the matter, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc., another target of the investigation, and two publishers appear reluctant to settle on the terms sought by antitrust authorities in both the U.S. and Europe, those people said.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120404/settlement-near-on-e-book-pricing/feed/0U.S. Warns Apple, Publishershttp://allthingsd.com/20120307/u-s-warns-apple-publishers/
http://allthingsd.com/20120307/u-s-warns-apple-publishers/#commentsThu, 08 Mar 2012 05:07:10 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=181644The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several of the parties have held talks to settle the antitrust case and head off a potentially damaging court battle, these people said. If successful, such a settlement could have wide-ranging repercussions for the industry, potentially leading to cheaper e-books for consumers. However, not every publisher is in settlement discussions.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120307/u-s-warns-apple-publishers/feed/1Papers Put Faith in Paywallshttp://allthingsd.com/20120305/papers-put-faith-in-paywalls/
http://allthingsd.com/20120305/papers-put-faith-in-paywalls/#commentsMon, 05 Mar 2012 18:00:17 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=180718As more newspapers close the door on free access to their websites, some publishers are still waiting for paying customers to pour in.

The numbers of readers signing up so far suggest that at many papers, “paywalls” aren’t about to reverse publishers’ deteriorating finances. Yet the results aren’t discouraging industry executives, who say their efforts are succeeding in shoring up the core print business after years of declines.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20120305/papers-put-faith-in-paywalls/feed/0Apple Unveils iPad Textbook Planhttp://allthingsd.com/20120119/apples-education-announcement-live-from-new-york/
http://allthingsd.com/20120119/apples-education-announcement-live-from-new-york/#commentsThu, 19 Jan 2012 14:25:18 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=164451Greetings! We’re here at New York’s iconic Guggenheim Museum, awaiting the start of Apple’s “Education Announcement.” The expectation is that we’ll hear about new publishing tools that allow educators and others to create their own iPad-friendly textbooks, but we should know soon enough. The event is slated to kick off at 10 am ET, but we’ll start chatting live now:

9:45 am: Hi there, from Peter! Lauren Goode and I, along with a couple hundred other people, are still stuck in the stairwell of the museum, waiting to be seated.

9:50 am: Line is moving slowly now.

9:52 am: Hello there. Apple has let us into the Guggenheim’s basement auditorium.

Just spotted McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw in the audience. Not sure if he’s sitting with us, or will be popping up onstage.

9:54 am: Ah. I see that the American corporate mandate to play Adele at every event has continued into 2012. So we are still rolling in the deep.

We could have had it all, you know.

9:57 am: Lights down. Adele still belting.

9:58 am: First up: Apple marketing head Phil Schiller.

“Education is deep in our DNA, and it has been from the very beginning.”

Apple has a unique understanding of learning, student achievement. “We’re so proud to take part in anything we can do to help students learn.”

New change in schools via iPad is “profound and remarkable.”

Shot of toddler watching Dora on iPad, which looks very familiar.

But education has challenges, “which are pretty profound.”

Life is tough for high school kids in the U.S. Freshmen have a 70 percent chance of graduating. In “hard-hit urban areas,” that’s 60 percent.

Even if you do graduate, you probably won’t be prepared to compete internationally. List of poor showing by U.S. in world education rankings.

Now a video reel of teachers bemoaning the state of affairs, backed up by swelling music track.

Basic message: Schools are in lousy shape. “We need a reset. We need a way to find out what’s wrong, and fix it,” says last teacher, in a nice sweater.

Schiller is back. “No one person or company can try to fix it all.” But Apple can help. Specifically with “student engagement.”

Of course, kids like iPads, Schiller says. Extolls virtues of iPad, which we don’t need to tell you about here. “Affordable, not only for families but for schools.”

20,000+ education apps built specifically for iPad.

And lots of iBooks would work very nicely in schools, too.

1.5 million iPads in use in “education institutions.” We want to accelerate that. So we’re announcing two initiatives:

10:06 am: 1) “Reinventing textbooks.”

Books are awesome. They’ve transformed society and will always be with us. But they’re not an ideal learning tool for kids. Cumbersome, get dog-eared, “written-in, worn, just not the ideal teaching tool.” Image of badly-beaten book.

So here I will point out that the most obvious issue is the same one that magazine publishers faced during the initial iPad launch — someone needs to figure out how to pay for a system where you can build all this new cool digital stuff, while you continue to publish your old paper-and-ink products. After some initial experiments, most magazine guys have retreated to more or less republishing the existing product, with a few bells and whistles.

Okay, back to Rosner, still demoing cool stuff like interactive text that lets you access a glossary by highlighting a word. “That is so much better than a paper glossary could ever hope to be.”

10:14 am: Hopefully, the pictures that Lauren Goode is taking give you a good idea of what Rosner is showing off. This stuff does look gorgeous, of course.

Half the crowd applauds.

10:15 am: Still demoing. Quizzes and review questions built into book. “The bottom line is immediate feedback.”

First chapters of “Life on Earth” are available now, for free. Future chapters will be available at low price.

And now, a video. “We couldn’t help ourselves … I hope you enjoy it.”

More hopeful teachers and music this time out.

So while video is rolling, let’s review: By far the most important announcement today is that Apple has partnered with three of the big textbook publishers. Don’t have details on that, but the fact that this isn’t a flat-out end run around the textbook industry is crucial. Obvious parallel here is iTunes music launch in 2003, when Apple worked with the big labels instead.

Eddy Cue, who many of us thought would be at event, shows up in video, instead.

700 million downloads of iTunes U content in the last four years. So far, mostly used to download college lectures. (I’m responsible for one of them! A Robert Shiller talk I keep meaning to listen to.)

At least it should be, based on the $35 million that investors just plowed into Outbrain, the content recommendation engine that works with AllThingsD and lots of other publishers. Index Ventures led the round, joining existing investors Carmel and Lightspeed; the New York-based company has raised $64 million to date.

Outbrain makes money helping funnel traffic from one publisher’s site to another. It gets paid whenever someone clicks on its sponsored listings (those are the ones labeled “From the Web” at the end of this story), and gives the originating publisher 60 percent of the revenue. Publishers (again, like AllThingsD) also benefit, because Outbrain provides recommendations for other stories that will keep readers on the original site.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20111214/content-recommendation-doesnt-come-cheap-outbrain-raises-another-35-million/feed/0Justice Department Confirms E-Book Probehttp://allthingsd.com/20111207/justice-department-confirms-e-book-probe/
http://allthingsd.com/20111207/justice-department-confirms-e-book-probe/#commentsWed, 07 Dec 2011 19:01:39 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=151529The U.S. Justice Department confirmed Wednesday that it is conducting an antitrust investigation into the pricing of electronic books, the latest antitrust watchdog to probe whether there was improper collusion by publishers and Apple Inc. to prevent discounting.

At a congressional hearing, Sharis Pozen, the Justice Department’s acting antitrust chief, said: “We are also investigating the electronic book industry, along with the European Commission and the states attorneys general.”

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20111207/justice-department-confirms-e-book-probe/feed/0Canada's Rogers Plays Catch-Up to Groupon by Partnering With Group Commercehttp://allthingsd.com/20111129/canadas-rogers-plays-catch-up-to-groupon-by-partnering-with-group-commerce/
http://allthingsd.com/20111129/canadas-rogers-plays-catch-up-to-groupon-by-partnering-with-group-commerce/#commentsTue, 29 Nov 2011 17:23:54 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=148135Group Commerce has signed up Rogers Digital Media in Canada to publish their own daily deals to compete with Groupon and others. RDeals will launch today to offer consumers daily discounts on spas, restaurants and other services. Rogers’ holdings include magazines — Maclean’s, Today’s Parent and Hello! Canada — as well as several radio and TV stations. Publishers are trying to leverage their vast audiences to get into the local commerce space, but are generally playing a game of catch-up.
]]>http://allthingsd.com/20111129/canadas-rogers-plays-catch-up-to-groupon-by-partnering-with-group-commerce/feed/0Spotzot Secures $2.2 Million for Mobile Coupon Networkhttp://allthingsd.com/20111117/spotzot-secures-2-2-million-for-mobile-coupon-network/
http://allthingsd.com/20111117/spotzot-secures-2-2-million-for-mobile-coupon-network/#commentsThu, 17 Nov 2011 13:00:07 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=145043Santa Clara, Calif.-based Spotzot, which aggregates coupons, daily deals and other online promotions, has raised $2.2 million in capital. The company’s first round was led by Cervin Ventures, Inventus Capital Partners and TiE-Silicon Valley Angels. Mobile publishers such as ShopSavvy, Shopkick, CardStar and Geodelic tap into the network to display the deals in applications.
]]>http://allthingsd.com/20111117/spotzot-secures-2-2-million-for-mobile-coupon-network/feed/0Amazon, Now a Book Lenderhttp://allthingsd.com/20111103/amazon-now-a-book-lender/
http://allthingsd.com/20111103/amazon-now-a-book-lender/#commentsThu, 03 Nov 2011 10:40:35 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=139963As the e-reader and tablet wars heat up, Amazon.com Inc. is launching a digital-book lending library that will be available only to owners of its Kindle and Kindle Fire devices who are also subscribers to its Amazon Prime program.

The program will be limited, at least at the beginning, in what is available to borrow. Amazon will initially offer slightly more than 5,000 titles in the library, including more than 100 current and former national bestsellers, such as Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” None of the six largest publishers in the U.S. is participating.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20111103/amazon-now-a-book-lender/feed/0Google Copyright Talks Continue With Publishers, Authorshttp://allthingsd.com/20110915/google-copyright-talks-continue-with-publishers-authors/
http://allthingsd.com/20110915/google-copyright-talks-continue-with-publishers-authors/#commentsThu, 15 Sep 2011 19:02:19 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=121240Google Inc. and publisher and author groups are continuing to discuss options to resolve copyright litigation over a proposed digital library of books after a federal judge earlier this year rejected a settlement in the case, lawyers for both sides said Thursday.

In March, Denny Chin, now a U.S. Circuit Judge in Manhattan, rejected a revised $125 million deal to resolve separate lawsuits over scanning books for online distribution by Google via its Google Books site. In his decision, the judge found the pact would give Google the ability to “exploit” books without the permission of copyright owners.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20110915/google-copyright-talks-continue-with-publishers-authors/feed/0Amazon in Talks to Launch Digital-Book Libraryhttp://allthingsd.com/20110911/amazon-in-talks-to-launch-digital-book-library/
http://allthingsd.com/20110911/amazon-in-talks-to-launch-digital-book-library/#commentsSun, 11 Sep 2011 23:25:54 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=119376Amazon.com Inc. is talking with book publishers about launching a Netflix Inc.-like service for digital books, in which customers would pay an annual fee to access a library of content, according to people familiar with the matter.

It’s unclear how much traction the proposal has, the people said. Several publishing executives said they aren’t enthusiastic about the idea because they believe it could lower the value of books and because it could strain their relationships with other retailers that sell their books, they said.

]]>http://allthingsd.com/20110911/amazon-in-talks-to-launch-digital-book-library/feed/0TownHog Focuses on Publishing Partnerships as Its Own Daily Deal Brand Fadeshttp://allthingsd.com/20110804/townhog-focuses-on-publishing-partnerships-as-daily-deal-brand-fades/
http://allthingsd.com/20110804/townhog-focuses-on-publishing-partnerships-as-daily-deal-brand-fades/#commentsThu, 04 Aug 2011 14:51:11 +0000http://allthingsd.com/?p=106295San Francisco-based TownHog is rolling out a new feature for its daily deals platform, which will allow third-party publishers to make offers in real time through mobile applications.

It’s a little bit like Groupon Now and LivingSocial Instant, which offer deals that can be redeemed immediately and are based on your location.

But the comparisons with the industry’s leaders and TownHog end there.

Lilia Martinez-Coburn, TownHog’s VP of product and marketing, explains that since getting into the business in late 2009, the company has shifted its focus away from building up a huge sales staff and competing one on one with the giants in the space.

Today, its platform is being used by several companies, which already have the distribution and the sales force, including CBS Local Offers, OpenTable, Cumulus Broadcasting’s SweetJack.com, the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate and others.

TownHog’s consumer-facing site now primarily operates in San Francisco only, where it continues to help SFGate source deals.

This is the second time the company has shifted businesses. Previously, it was called DotBlu, a social games company that didn’t work out. But since the company still had some money left in the bank, it tried the daily deals business.

Many started to think TownHog was again on the downturn earlier this year, when it started scaling back the number of employees it had.

Martinez-Coburn explains it has been reducing the number of people on staff because it didn’t need as many salespeople, since its publishing partners were increasingly sourcing the deals directly. About a month ago, TownHog had 40 employees; today it has closer to 30.

“As our partners ramp up and are getting the hang of how to sell this, the hope is for them to take on the role and source their own deals,” she said.

Other companies providing white label platforms in the daily deals space include Tippr and Group Commerce.

TownHog’s mobile product, which it unveiled today, is called Express Offers. It will allow partners to quickly launch a standalone iPhone app to publish offers.

Unlike traditional deals that run for 24 hours and make you wait to redeem them, consumers will have the chance to purchase these offers immediately from the phone or online.

Going forward, Martinez-Coburn said she hopes that all offers on their network will be offered instantly because of the benefits to the consumer and the publisher.

Publishers gain the opportunity to run more than one offer at a time, instead of providing just one deal a day. In addition, Martinez-Coburn said, it will help with conversion rates. Right now, many publishing partners promote deals on the radio or in the paper, and when people see it or hear about it, they immediately want to go and get 50 percent.

When they realize they have to wait 24 hours, the conversion drops off.